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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

DIY: How to Make an Awesome ZigZag Rug!

Since my hubs has me convinced that I need to makeover our little home. I have taken it upon myself to do a ton of DIY projects for our house. He loves very modern design and I am more of a thrift queen with lots of art around the house. So I have decided the perfect mesh is adding a few accents with a modern flair. This turned out to be a really easy project and cost me under $10 bucks.

Supplies:
1. Rug- The cheaper the better- I really wanted it flat and I got this one at Target for 3 bucks. I also chose a charcoal gray because it's easier to lay light on top of dark because if you screw up.. like I do.. it's easier to fix.
2. Block Print Ink. Ink instead of spray paint because I wanted the pigment to get the ink into the rug. Don't use acrylic paint because it will lay on top of the rug and not look like apart of the rug. The ink cost me 1.50 with a coupon from Michaels. I picked just the basic white.
3. Sissors.
4. Painters Tape- Do not use anything else- because this is how you get even beautiful crisp lines.
5. Paint Roller- I got the cheapest one at the hardware store- for 1.50 :) You can use one you have but make sure it's a small one.
6. Tape Measure
7. Hair Dryer- this is optional.

Step 1. Lay Out your Rug. This Rug is 30 inches Long and 18 inches height. I have enough to make 3 rows of chevron. This Part goes into two phases, put a piece of tape down at the 5 inch mark. This is your first row you are going to do a diagnal line and each row is 5 inches. We are working left to right. The next piece of tape at the 10 inch marker- the right hand edge needs to be at the 10 inch marker. Keep going until the end of the rug. To help me out with the measurements- I marked the plastic underneath the rug every 5 inches. It should look like some rows are skinny and some rows are a fat. The fat rows are the sections that you will be laying down your ink.
Step 2. Place a piece of tape at around a 45 degree angle in one corner. Place all the tape down side by side.

Step 3. Remove a piece of the angled tape every other row. The tape that is left press firmly into the rug.

Step 4. Put your ink in your pan and put your roller on the ink. It's tacky! So move your roller over the ink several times and loosen the pigment. If your not used to working with ink- trust me it's easy. The trick is to work the pigment into an a easier flow. Roll the ink on to the 5 ink sections that are the larger sections on your rug. The ink adds thin layers- but I rolled over the same sections maybe 2-3 times.

Step 5. Remove Tape. If you have any ink in unwanted places on your rug. Take a paper towel dabbed in water and it takes the ink right up.

Step 6. Let your ink dry. If you want the ink to dry faster use a hair dryer :)
Step 7. Tape up your rug. This opposite direction is easier because you can line up the tape to your existing stripes. What is great about using painters tape is if you don't get the line exactly right- left it up and try again.

Step 8: Roll on the paint on the sections connection your V's.
Step 9. Lift off your tape. If you need add a little dab of paint here and there- use a paint brush and use a dabbing motion to get the ink in.
Step 10. All done :) Time to think of an appropriate reward for making an awesome rug.. maybe a delicious coffee?